Of course, the big news on Twitter is the new Michael Wolff book, Fire and Fury. There are tweets about every aspect of the book, the release of which was brought forward to 5 January when President Trump’s lawyers sent a “cease and desist” letter to the publishers. That’s publishing equivalent of “eff you,” and good on them!

The response of Fox News has been interesting. They haven’t actually completely ignored the book as the tweet below infers, but many have an interesting take. For example, Greg Gutfeld thinks it’s no big deal calling Trump a child because every man gets called a child by women, so that means he’s just like everyone else!

WaPo: Fire and Fury Book
NYT: Fire and Fury Book
NBC: Fire and Fury Book
ABC: Fire and Fury Book
CBS: Fire and Fury Book
CNN: Fire and Fury Book

The way they speak about the Trump presidency is becoming more farcical every day.

Ever since Trump rode the “down” escalator to announce his candidacy for the presidency, there were some at Fox News, like Sean Hannity, whose shows became little more than Trump advertorials. Others became Trump apologists, explaining what he reallymeant every time he got it wrong. Unlike every other candidate ever, apparently taking Trump at his word is not how it works.

There were others though whose response was fairer. Some normalized Trump, which I personally think is dangerous. Others made it clear that they were only supporting him because he was the GOP candidate.

The publication of Wolff’s book has made it clear that what the majority of us have been saying about Trump is correct. There is no longer any way to deny he’s unfit to be president. Trump’s own response to the book is laughable, and his disdain for it would be far more believable if he just ignored it. As Wolff himself says, Trump’s response is making it a lot more popular.

Anyway, some at Fox News, who realize they can’t deny the reality of Trump any more, are taking a different tack. They’re instead telling us we have to ignore the rhetoric and look at what he’s actuallydoing, and, according to them, that’s great! Here’s one example, quoted by Trump himself.

“President Trump has something now he didn’t have a year ago, that is a set of accomplishments that nobody can deny. The accomplishments are there, look at his record, he has had a very significant first year.” @LouDobbs Show,David Asman & Ed Rollins

The set of accomplishments is pretty thin on the ground. The main one that’s been touted all year is the appointment of a young and extremely conservative Supreme Court justice. But really, how is that a Trump accomplishment? It was Republican leader Mitch McConnell who stopped Obama’s nomination coming up in a quite disgraceful fashion for so long. That is what enabled Trump to nominate someone to replace Justice Scalia. Then, once the GOP had control of who was nominated again, it was Mike Pence and his cronies who found Neil Gorsuch. Fire and Fury confirms what was reported at the time: Trump wanted to give that job as a reward to Rudy Giuliani. He saw it as a waste for the appointment to be used in any other way than as a bone for his running dogs.

Another supposed accomplishment is the Trump tax bill. It is an achievement, but it’s the most unpopular piece of legislation in a long time. Really though, it doesn’t bear much resemblance to what Trump said he wanted. All his promises on the campaign trail of helping those who feel downtrodden have come to nought. The big winners are his billionaire friends, which every analyst confirms. Some say that’s a good thing, but none, except Trump himself, try to pretend it’s not the wealthiest who will benefit the most.

And talking of farcical, how about this tweet:

Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news – it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!

In reality, Trump has done NOTHING in relation to commercial aviation, though he has some dangerous plans we can only hope also come to nothing. (Privatizing Air Traffic Control.) There were zero deaths worldwide, but I’m not sure how Trump can claim credit for that. No one person can. And if he’s just talking about the US, well there haven’t been any deaths in the US since 2009, so once again this is not a new thing. Obama, of course, didn’t claim any credit for that. Doing so would have been a joke. However, that tweet was the same day as the infamous North Korea tweet, so it didn’t get much attention.

Today, Trump’s tweets are once again truly cringe-worthy.

Now that Russian collusion, after one year of intense study, has proven to be a total hoax on the American public, the Democrats and their lapdogs, the Fake News Mainstream Media, are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence…..

….Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star…..

Trump also spoke from Camp David, where’s he’s spending the weekend with all members of his cabinet except Jeff Sessions. (Sessions is trying to win back favour by re-opening investigations into Hillary Clinton, but that’s another story.) Here’s part of Mic‘s report on Trump’s speech:

President Donald Trump launched another attack on the free press during a Camp David press conference on Saturday, bemoaning “weak” libel laws in response to a question about Michael Wolff’s explosive book on his chaotic White House.

“I think it was a disgrace that someone’s able to have something, do something like that,” Trump said of Wolff’s book, Fire and Fury. “The libel laws are very weak in this country. If they were strong, it’d be very helpful. You wouldn’t have things like that happen, where you could say whatever comes to your head.”

Personally I think USians should be very worried when their president starts complaining about the press having too much freedom. Besides, it’s not libel if it’s true. Michael Wolff said on MSNBC that he stands by everything he wrote, and he has both contemporaneous notes and TAPES. As even Fox News‘s Dana Perino said, people should be very careful about denying things were said if there’s a chance Wolff can produce a tape of them saying it.

Trump apparently thinks both the Attorney-General and the White House counsel should be protecting him from all this. He reportedly wants someone like Roy Cohn back. That says it all really. The Daily Beast accurately describes Cohn as Senator Joe McCarthy’s “personal lickspittle” during the years McCarthy was conducting his Senate Committee witch hunt for communists.

Oh, and by the way …

Roy Cohn, disgusting and inhumane himself, was a longtime mentor to Donald Trump, who subsequently dropped Cohn when he was diagnosed with AIDS and died at the height of the epidemic.

Here’s some more from the Mic story on Trump’s speech from Camp David:

Flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and other Republican leaders Saturday afternoon, Trump again attacked the book and its author, calling Fire and Fury a “work of fiction.” He also defended his intelligence once again, telling reporters that he “went to the best colleges for college” and “had a situation where I was a very excellent student.” …

“The story, by the way, in the Times was way off — or at least off,” Trump said. “Everything I’ve done is 100% proper. That’s what I do, is I do things proper.”

When asked what was wrong with the story, he responded simply: “You’ll find out.” …

But when the president opened things up for questions, the conversation shifted away from his 2018 resolutions to the Wolff book, “Sloppy Steve” Bannon and the Russia investigation.

He repeated that there was “no collusion” between his campaign and Russia, but that Democrat Hillary Clinton had colluded with the Kremlin.

“Unfortunately, you people don’t cover that, very much,” Trump said.

Despite his claims otherwise, the question of collusion between his team and the Russians is not “dead.” Special counsel Robert Mueller has already brought down four former Trump associates, including former campaign manager Paul Manafort and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, in an investigation that is expected to continue deep into 2018 — if not longer.

“It’s making our country look foolish,” Trump said of the investigation Saturday. “And this is a country I don’t want looking foolish. And it’s not going to look foolish as long as I’m here.”

“In advance of the Jan. 9 publication of the book, which Trump is already attacking, Wolff has written this extracted column about his time in the White House based on the reporting included in Fire and Fury.”

(In response to the president’s attacks, publication was brought forward to 5 January. My copy is on the way.)
(Via Ann German.)

Says it all. It’s funny until you remember this is an accurate characterization of the most powerful man in the world.
(Via Ann German.)

Later today Trump will attempt to fire the snow, then will threaten to sue the snow, then will deny the snow exists, then will take credit for the snow. Then Sarah Huckabee Sanders will refer to the snow as “alternative rain”#snowday

Religion Tweets

Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old African-American sharecropper, was walking home from church in Abbeville, Ala., on the night of Sept. 3, 1944, when she was abducted and raped by six white men. …

But the attack, like many involving black victims during the Jim Crow era in the South, never went to trial. Two all-white, all-male grand juries refused to indict the men, even though one of them had confessed. …

In Ms. Buirski’s film, Mrs. Taylor recalled how she could have easily been killed. “The Lord was just with me that night,” she said.

This whole incident is shocking and sickening, and one I would normally put in the “Human Rights Tweets” section. I hope you can see why it’s in “Religion Tweets” instead.

(Via Ann German.)

Please read about Recy Taylor, a wife and mother gang-raped by 6 white men never punished. My friend @dmcguire13 won her an apology from the Alabama legislature when Taylor was 91 https://t.co/PkG3x3JASn

This is what happens when you get a political party in office controlled by it’s conservative religious wing. If this was happening in a Muslim-majority country, there would be an uproar. It’s in the US, so they they it’s okay!

Madness… “the DOJ wants to punish a minor by revealing her private medical information to an uncle who threatened to “beat” her if she terminated her pregnancy.” https://t.co/mqctM2wZwZ

Funny Tweets

I’ve said this before – I don’t know Sean Carroll, but I know I like him!

Does one eventually reach an age where one stops having the anxiety dream about not being allowed to graduate from high school because one signed up for a math class then never attended it? Asking for a friend.

New Zealand Tweets

I should have a section with this name! Here’s a good one to start with. The letter in the pic reads:

To whoever finds this message
I am Olivia Brown I am 10 years old and I am from Auckland, New Zealand. I live with my mum, dad, sister, and my 4 pets. Milo my dog, Moby my cat, Milly my cat and goldy my goldfish. This letter was sent in 2017 16 February.
From Olivia

What a great kid! She names her pets but not the human members of her family! 😻

Olivia Brown’s message in a bottle was found on Rangitoto Island by ranger Charlie. Does anyone know Olivia? Share this and help us find her. pic.twitter.com/tJSoucq5i4

Dog Tweets

We had a golden lab. He was gorgeous and loved swimming with us. He also saved my life when I got swept away in a river when I was around 21. (I was never scared enough of the water – that was the third time I almost drowned.)

Your political opposition is currently spending a lot of time and energy organizing for the elections this year. There are glimmerings that we might be somewhat successful.

If we are successful, do you and yours then become the “sore loser community”, amid your shriekings of “voter fraud”?

While it may be emotionally satisfying to endlessly call people names, it’s not very effective for changing minds. If you really believe that we are just going to STFU, roll over, and play dead, think again.

L

PS: With all the hype, Kobach has found only two (2!) instances of voter fraud, both Republicans. One is in KS, which he is prosecuting. (He’s the only state Secretary of State with prosecutorial powers.) The guy voted in both CO and KS, where he owns property and spends an equal amount of time. And, he VOTED for Kobach.

That’s actually been known for quite a while. Apparently Trump and Chris Christie had a pact during the early primaries–whomever had to drop out first would support the other’s candidacy. Trump might be a dimwit, but even he knew he had no business being in the race!

Donald Trump is nothing more than the result of total ignorance among many of the voting public. So ignorance is the cause, helped substantially by the flow of unlimited money into the political system of the United States. The main cause, ignorance, does not allow the country to fix the money cause. Therefore, we can look forward to more Trump’s in the future if the country last long enough. That is the prognosis so the best we can hope for is an early death.

You seem to not understand the remarks regarding money. Not surprised at that. I am not counting dollars that one candidate spent running for office verses another and I made no claim of that at all. Funny how one from the other side, if that is what you are, jump on that false and misunderstanding idea. What I refer to is the enormous money that runs and controls all of the politicians of all parties and ranks in Washington DC. The faster we get off of the lame idea of them verses us and attack the real problem the better for all. Mine is more than yours is kind of childish don’t you think?

At any rate, while political spending may be “unlimited” in theory, the fact is that what we as a country spend on political campaigns, compared with what we spend on other forms of amusement, is not even a rounding error. Total spending on the 2016 presidential election is about what we spend every month at McDonald’s.

More importantly, who gets to decide what the “proper” allocation of resources will be? And why on earth should we trust them any more than the politicians and factions we already distrust? They’ll be the same people.

You’re still not getting what Randy is referring to. It’s not just about campaigns, but the whole money-go-round in Washington DC. Lobbyists, for example, have a legitimate place but the professional ones who literally buy the votes of representatives are a major problem in the US system. Even the Insider Trading law doesn’t apply to federal politicians and their families in your country! The law came up for review and politicians in both parties voted to keep it as it is now.

I quoted someone in a post recently saying something about the problem with the US being “my ignorance is just as valuable as your knowledge”. (Yes, I know my vague recollection is very unclear!) That was a problem with the Brexit vote too, when an extremely complex situation was put out to the popular vote. There’s a reason we have elected representatives, and that’s because we trust them to research the issues and vote the best way as a result. Most people don’t have the time, and at least half don’t have the ability to understand all the issues, even if they had the time. Not understanding a particular issue doesn’t make a person any less valuable, but it usually makes their opinion in that particular instance less valuable. The problem is that the two are conflated – there’s a feeling among some that their opinion being less important on a particular issue somehow makes them worth less as a person. They don’t feel like that when seeking the advice of a plumber, or doctor, or electrician, or vet, so they shouldn’t feel like that with the issues politicians have to make judgments on.

People who announce to the world that they are geniuses are almost certainly not that. Trump is a classic example of the Dunning Kruger effect, described by Wikipedia as this: “In the field of psychology, the Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias wherein people of low ability suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly assessing their cognitive ability as greater than it is. The cognitive bias of illusory superiority derives from the metacognitive inability of low-ability persons to recognize their own ineptitude; without the self-awareness of metacognition, low-ability people cannot objectively evaluate their actual competence or incompetence.”

Wolff’s book doesn’t really tell us anything that Trump observers have known for a long time. He suffers from mental disabilities that should have automatically disqualified him from the presidency. Equally troubling is that the Republican Party is now his greatest enabler. Choosing party over country, its members know that they if turn on Trump their political careers will be shortly over because his base, which is also the base of the Party, will turn them out. Hence, the most dangerous man in the world sits in the White House or Mar-a-Lago with the ability to ignite a nuclear holocaust. The American system of government is broken and there is no way to fix it. Rocky times will continue.

Andrew Johnson, who became President upon Lincoln’s demise, was drunk at his own inauguration; was goaded by hecklers into proposing that members of Congress be hanged; was admonished to maintain the dignity of his office and replied “I don’t care about my dignity”; and compared himself to Jesus.

The fake media of the day said: “It is mortifying to see a man occupying the lofty position of President of the United States descend from that position and join issue with those who are draggling their garments in the muddy gutters of political vituperation.”

He was impeached, among other things, for bringing Congress “into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt and reproach”; for trying to “impair and destroy the regard and respect” that citizens supposedly have for Congress, thereby to “excite [their] odium and resentment”. Johnson allegedly went so far as to “openly and publicly and before divers[e] assemblages of citizens….make and declare, with a loud voice, certain intemperate, inflammatory and scandalous harangues, and therein utter loud threats and bitter menaces….amid the cries, jeers and laughter of the multitudes…”

What’s your point? I see none. The main charge against Johnson was that he violated a law – The Tenure of Office Act. He was very lucky. He was acquitted by one vote (2/3 of the Senate was required). By your standards, all media of his day was “fake” since almost all newspapers were extremely partisan and objective editorials were extremely hard to find.

Not sure I see any point or comparison to Trump with Johnson. Trump was, after all, elected to the office. Johnson was not. Johnson was most likely saved from impeachment because, unfortunately Seward stayed on as Sec. of State and helped him squeak by. Very unlikely that Johnson ever would have been elected and most republicans considered him a democrat.

If your point is that there’s been someone like Trump before, and that makes what he’s doing okay, we go back to what I say over and over again. Somebody else doing something worse does not mean it’s okay for you to do something bad.

And while those who don’t know history may be condemned to repeat it (and we can rely on Trump to NOT know history), those of us who do know history are condemned to watch while others repeat it.

Perspective matters. The fact that the republic has survived a civil war, world wars, cold war, and many other calamities far worse than the lamestream media’s whiny hysteria over Trump (which nobody will remember in ten years), matters.

Well for your sake, let’s hope you get some winning to remember. So far, it looks more like the Mueller investigation is what’s going to be most remembered about Trump’s presidency, not to mention his dissing of his own security services.

“It’s making our country look foolish,” Trump said of the investigation Saturday. “And this is a country I don’t want looking foolish. And it’s not going to look foolish as long as I’m here.”

Man, that was funny. Reminds me of Obi-Wan Kenobe’s famous line: “Who’s the more foolish, the fool, or the fool who follows him?” We have a lot of fools following fools here in the US of A.

I haven’t and won’t read Fire and Fury, but I’d speculate that a lot of the dirt Wolff got was simply because the people he interviewed never asked things like “is this on the record?” or “will this be quoted?” Or to ask after the interview if they can review what was written. I bet many would not have said what they said if they knew how to be guarded when speaking to a reporter. Not a lot of worldly experience in that there White House. Of course, a lot of the stuff seemed like Wolff was a fly on the wall and not actually interviewing directly. As in Ivanka’s description of her dad’s ghastly comb-over and his “cranium-shrinking” surgery. From hence forth it shall be known that Trump has a shrunken head!

It shows the inexperience of those in the current White House that they just let Wolff roam around, sit in on meetings etc. As he said in one interview, he was waiting for someone to ask him what he was doing there and tell him to leave. No one did.

Must say, though, that I’m also greatly enjoying Steve Bannon’s shameless, abject, sycophantic, shit-eating apologies to Trump; which, this time, I’m sure, will do him not a bit of good. I also enjoying Stephen Miller’s abruptly truncated interview with Jake Tapper on CNN. Later read that after he was cut off, he refused to leave when asked politely, and had to be excorted out of the building by security guards. Miller is a malevolent creature who need to be wlosely watched.

“Miller is a malevolent creature who need(s) to be closely watched.” Totally agree with this. He is one scary dude! His dead eyes alone betray the emptiness of his soul. If ever there was a Goebbels-wanna-be, he is it. Watching him on CNN gave me the creeps.

He always worries me too. He gives me a similar feeling to that Donald Rumsfeld used to. One of the few wise things Trump’s done is kept him largely away from interviews. He was probably the only one available to front up this weekend.

Pricklepad Hedgehog Hospital is run by Moira Simpson aka ‘Moira the hedgehog lady’. Moira is 67 and has been running the hedgehog hospital from her home for 15 years or more. Moira was a senior manager for the NHS before retiring and later converted her home into Pricklepad Hedgehog Hospital. I received an email from Moira on 27th December and at the time they had 27 Hedgehogs in their care. Both Moira Simpson (Pricklepad Hedgehog Hospital) and Joan Lockley (West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue – West Midlands Hosprickal) have done so much to help hedgehogs.